Originally Posted by
Kojak
I suspected this as well. There are areas of the world where trademarks and patents mean little. It wouldn't be that difficult for a low price frame maker to lay out a mold that looked like a Madone, and certainly wouldn't be difficult to match the paint/decals. If I were contemplating this venture, I'd have to get some sort of comfort that I was buying "legitimate" merchandise, and not knock-offs. These fall into my "do your research" caveat.
One problem that people who have goods made in factories they don't control is that the counterfeit goods are made in the same molds, with the same materials, by the same people who make the original. (Not just frames; happens with many goods. Very common in sewn products.)